ZEC disowns ballots

Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s chief inspector yesterday disowned the ballot papers that were allegedly picked from a bin at a city hotel by MDC-T deputy national chairman Morgen Komichi.Testifying in the ongoing trial of Komichi accused of fraud and contravening the Electoral Act after he was found in possession of an envelope containing ballot papers belonging to Constable Mugove Chiginya, Ms Jane Chigiji examined the grey tamper-proof envelope which contained the ballots to see if it originated from ZEC.

She said the ballots could not have been issued by the commission due to the strange characteristics on the grey and Khaki envelopes.
She said apart from being written ZEC, there was no other indication that the envelope indeed came from the commission.

Ms Chigiji said the commission used special felt tip pens to write on the grey tamper-proof envelopes that contained the ballots adding that it was shocking to note that the one which Komichi allegedly presented to ZEC was written with an ordinary pen.

“I do not even know the origins of this envelope, of course the commission used similar envelopes but the type of pen that was used to write on this one is different from the one we used.

“The commission used felt tip pens not this ordinary one that was used. The person who brought these documents is the one who must tell this court where he got them from because the way we wrote ours is totally different from the way this one was written,” she said. During cross-examination by Komichi’s lawyer on Monday, Ms Chigiji said to show that someone had voted, the envelope containing the voter’s ballot papers should be stamped by the presiding officer.

She said the envelope which was found in Komichi’s possession was not stamped to prove that it was coming from a polling station.
“After a person has voted, there must be a stamp of the presiding officer of that particular polling station. Also if the ballot papers are coming from our offices to the polling station for a voter to be able to vote, the envelope must be inscribed SV but this particular one was not inscribed,” she said.